Students start new school year

White Pine Middle School students walk back to class from County Park during their first week of the new school year.(Garrett Estrada photo)

No more sleeping in. No more summer jobs or family vacations. Those all ended with the sound of the alarm clock Monday morning, ushering in the end of summer and the beginning of the new school year. Backpacks, homework and pop quizzes are back in fashion for the next nine months.

For the 104 new freshman at White Pine High School, the first week at a new school can be the toughest. It is a big transition, learning a new schedule and making sure they are in the right classroom is just the start and what they may not know is that the school’s administration started their school year over two weeks ago to try and make everything as seamless as can be.

“We’ve spent the past two and a half weeks before school starts building the master schedule and looking at each student’s course requests, trying to match them up the best we can to prepare our students to be the best learners they can be,” White Pine High School’s Principal Adam Young said.

The incoming freshman will all have to take a mandatory introduction class taught by seniors, titled “Freshman Achievements” that, according to Young, helps “teach them what high school is all about.”

“The class is there for new students to learn simple things like how many credits it takes to graduate or how to be good studiers and good time managers,” the principal said. “It is important because a lot of them might not initially realize how big of a step up it is from middle school to high school. For one thing, there is a lot more homework.”

Still, for some students, such as seventh grader Samantha Collins, going back to school can be something worth looking forward to.

“I’m excited to get to go back because of how much fun I have with my teachers,” Collins said about returning to White Pine Middle School. Her identical twin sister Tacy Collins agreed, adding that her teacher Ms. Allen was the reason she was excited to return to the classroom (for more thoughts on how middle school students feel about going back to class, see “Talk of the Town” on page 3A).

Whether the new students are heading into a classroom for the first time or for their final year, Young said he has advice that will make this school year a successful and enriching one.

“Stay involved and really try hard from day one,” Young said. “Those two little things that I have learned over the years make the biggest difference for students. If they do that, they will be fine.”